


Land of Bells -A Cold Winter Night-

by FireEye



Category: Kino no Tabi | Kino's Journey - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 21:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireEye/pseuds/FireEye
Summary: Kino and Hermes visit a country where it's all about gift giving.





	Land of Bells -A Cold Winter Night-

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cleflink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleflink/gifts).



Snow accumulated along the side of the road in drifts, many of them reaching high overhead as the highway curved before transforming into a smaller, more precipitous path that cut a switchback down into the valley.

It was not a drab, bleak landscape.  Under the cold starlight, the world had taken on a soft, glittering silence.  The crystalline snowfall had left the trees glazed in ice, which, along with the thick blanket of snow, sparkled in the headlamp of the passing motorrad.  Nearer to the border wall, the snow became a canvas of color; a rainbow of tiny lights had been strung up along the merlons, against a backdrop of evergreen garlands and among icicles that further caught the colors in a prism.

Outside the gate, the rider cut the engine.  A large woven wreath hung in the center, with gold and silver bells added intermittently along festive strings of ribbons.

“What do you think?  Are they’re trying to ward off invaders?”

Tugging off her gloves, Kino rubbed the cold out of her hands before dismounting.  Even with the warm engine running beneath her and the weight of her coat, her limbs were icy stiff from the ride, and her breath was tinged frost.

“I think, it may be more likely,” she replied, “we arrived in the middle of a festival.”

“I hope they’re still accepting visitors.  It’s cold out here.”

Giving the motorrad a companionable pat, Kino steered it towards the open gate.  “I could do with a warm cup of tea.”

Inside the gatehouse, a woman was humming along with the music that filled the small office.  When she saw Kino waiting at the window, she started, then smiled brightly.

“Oh!” she said.  “Hello!  I wasn’t expecting anybody.”

“That’s okay.  I only just arrived.”

“Gracious, you must be cold if you came in from the storm,” the woman continued.  “Welcome to the Country of Giving.”

~*~

The music was everywhere.  The jingle in the hotel lobby was different to the arrangement of bells that was playing on the street, was a different melody to the song that had been playing at the gate.  But they shared a similar thread of music.

Inside the hotel might have been more subdued than some of the decorations they had passed along the way, but colorful paper garlands had still been strung across the front desk and along the walls.  A large tree was set up in the middle of the room, with lit candles decorating its branches.

“Three days?”  The innkeeper chuckled.  “That’s a long time... most travelers only stay long enough to get their shopping done.”

“Shopping?”

“We’re a country known for our gift giving.  So it’s only natural that people looking for gifts travel from other countries to buy gifts for their loved ones.  Some people will travel from really far away for that really special occasion.”

“I see.”

“We’re just visiting,” Hermes put in.

“You picked a good time.”  Smiling, the innkeeper explained, “You arrived just in time for the Festival.  It’s bound to be a good one; preparations have been going all year.”

Kino’s eyes widened.  It was Hermes who spoke.  “You’ve been preparing all year?”

“Yep.  Since our last Festival.  Everyone really looks forward to it.”

“Huh,” Kino said.  “I imagine they must.”

“You still even have time to buy yourself a present.  Everyone should have a present for the Festival.”

“Thanks.  I’ll think about it.”

“If you know what you like, don’t be afraid to ask around,” he called after her as Kino steered Hermes towards the elevator.  “You still have two days to find something nice.”

~*~

“Why do you think they hang their socks over the fireplace?”

“I don’t know, Hermes.”

The room was cozy, warmed by a cheerful little fire already burning in the fireplace.  As Hermes observed, several colorful stockings decorated the mantle above.  A large balcony window was encircled with fluffy curtains of lace.  The room was festooned in rich reds and blues and greens and golds, and a small evergreen tree sat beside the window, like the one downstairs, with little glass decorations hanging from its needles.

As they were settling in, the innkeeper’s daughter arrived to deliver a tray of cookies and an oversized mug containing a rich, dark drink.  Kino wasn’t sure what the drink was made of, but it was sweet with a hint of spice, and easily warmed the chill from her bones.

Once it had cooled a little, Kino tried dipping her cookies into the drink as she watched the streets below through the window.  Despite the hour, people were bustling in preparation.  Some went to and from about their business, some were broken off into their own groups.

One the groups was singing.

“Do you think they’re this cheerful all of the time?”

“It seems like it, doesn’t it?”

“Do you think it would be hard?  Being that cheerful all of the time?”

“Maybe.”  Smiling faintly, Kino twirled the cookie between her fingers in her beverage.  “But they seem to enjoy it.”

~*~

The next day, they happened upon a play retelling the story of how the country had developed its most important tradition.

In the play, a young man and a young woman exchanged gifts on a day of celebration – the precursor to this country’s Festival.  Only, knowing each other’s hearts so well, each sacrificed for the other their greatest possession to give each a gift of great value.

The tragedy became the gift, so well thought out, that failed to account for the sacrifice of its opposite half.

Had they but longer to find the right gift, such tragedy might have been averted.  As everyone was trying to find the perfect gifts to give,  it was decided that a single month of the year didn’t give enough time.  And so, over time, it became a year long search between Festivals.

By the end of the play, Kino had fallen asleep.

~*~

“Excuse me.”

The shop was full of mechanical parts and the smell of grease.  When she stepped inside, a little mechanical diorama lit up, with little clockwork singers like the real ones out in the street, and a tinny, music box tune.  The mechanic, seated at his workbench, raised his head from his book to look at her.

“I was hoping you might be able to put a fresh coat of paint on my friend, here.”

“This is yours?” the mechanic asked.  “I don’t see a lot of motorrads in this country...”

Briefly, he looked Hermes over.  He turned back to Kino, and his smile was broad.

“I could get it done today; everyone’s getting ready for the Festival, so I don’t have any other customers.”

“That would be perfect.”

Kino patted Hermes’ between the handlebars.

“I’ll be back later,” she promised.  “Be good.”

“Are you going to find a gift?”

“No.  I’m just going to look around a bit more.”

“Don’t forget and leave without me!”

Setting Hermes in the center of his shop, the mechanic retrieved a sanding tool from his bench.  Without delay, he got to work stripping the old paint.

“That tickles.”

~*~

On the day of the Festival, Kino sat in the lobby watching the innkeeper’s family celebrating the Festival in the shadow of the ornamented tree.

They did seem very happy.

Soon after the family had opened their gifts, the innkeeper’s daughter, shyly, approached Kino under the watchful eyes of her parents, and, much to Kino’s mystification, held out a small gift, wrapped in colorful paper and adorned with ribbons.

“It’s for you,” she said, prompting Kino to take it.

“Oh,” Kino said.  Within the wrapping was a small box of packets, not, it seemed, unlike tea.

The girl watched her reaction to the gift nervously, and Kino smiled at her.

“Thank you,” she said.  “I like this.”

A bright smile bloomed on the girl’s face, and she went bounding back to her equally pleased parents.

~*~

The third day dawned.

The afternoon sun, glittering through the trees, found Kino on the road.

“I like the new paint, Kino.”

“Don’t mention it.”

It was a mile before Hermes piped up again.

“Kino, is it a gift?”

“If you want to think of it that way.”

“Kino, I didn’t get you anything!”

“Hermes, you are a gift.”

“I am...?  How do you figure?”

“Trust me.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah - "24/7/364 Retail Christmas". How's that for scary? ;) Happy Yuletide. <3


End file.
